http://www.amazon.com/Philip-Glass-Orchestra-Schnittke-Invisible/dp/B000001GH8/ref=sr_1_7/104-5435789-5246359?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1178999850&sr=8-7

track #3. i've always wanted to use it in a film somehow. it's probably too fast and intense for what you're wanting..but..eh..i just like it.

Oh man...I don't think I can afford the rights to Phillip Glass. Otherwise that might be perfect.

My favorite classical piece is "That's Why We Pray" by MC Hammer. The flourishing arabesque can elate any visuals into the sublime.

"And...which button do you press for your mother to come and pick you up?..."

parks's work on ys comes to mind but obviously that won't work.

or will it?

it's also at least 1/2 alfred schnittke (if not all) so maybe you have a chance? if not, i could edit it together to where no one would know and you could use it ;)

hey david,

miss michelle lee proksell directed me to this site so that i may throw my two or three cents upon this matter.

have u explored the works of Arvo Part? (umlauts missing) from your description, his work 'Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten' comes to mind. it begins very quietly with the ringing tone of a single bell which is softly surrounded by a wash of strings. when i first experienced the piece in concert, it sounded as if all the strings were improvising around a set of five tones--a similar experience to hearing the the string section of an orchestra tune.the strings eventually grow in dynamic and harmony climaxing on a tonal minor chord. it is a very beautiful and dramatic piece.

also, claude debussy's "clouds" come to mind. the woodwind tones and the relative stasis of the strings give it a very airy sound (haha i supposed that could've been conjectured from the title).

perhaps one of these would fit? perhaps not? regardless, both are great pieces of music worth checking out :)

hope this helps. say hello sometime via email!
-Nathan

I suppose I should have mentioned that, along with the 'weight of history' behind it, much of the music I'm surveying also happens to be public domain.

Gawd - yeah, that wouldn't work for this particular project, and while I'd love to feature her music in a film project someday, I also feel like I'd be doing it a disservice by taking advantage of it for my own purposes. I don't know if that makes any sense...but I'd almost prefer to see it never used in a movie.

Brad - I actually might take you up on that, but not for this film (instead re: the one we're about to shoot this week).

Nathan - I'm actually a huge fan of Arvo Part. Spiegel im Spiegel wins the award for most overused-piece-of-music-in-film-that-still-never-gets-old. I'd love to hear any of his music in concert. I haven't heard the Debussy, though, so I'll check that out. I think I might end up using something else by Wagner, or possibly Strauss, but at this point I'm still entertaining all options. Oh, and I'll send you an e-mail....Michelle said we should meet up when I'm LA.